Born in the former Soviet Union, Ms. Ciucias might have a past you never knew about. After being adopted at the age of one by her lovely parents, Ms. Ciucias grew up playing tennis in Fluvanna County before attending Virginia Commonwealth University, where she got her bachelor’s in Arts and History.
At first, she wanted to be an athletic trainer and even to this day she still finds learning about “joints and body health” exciting, and even mentioned she “still knows how to tape an ankle.” While she finds health care interesting, she says she “always wanted to be a teacher. Some people just know, and I just knew I always wanted to teach.”
After graduating from VCU, Ms. Ciucias moved to Charlottesville to earn her Masters in teaching at the University of Virginia. Following a broken ankle and the COVID Pandemic, she transferred her love of tennis to pickleball, where she played in the National Championship in Dallas for UVA.
Ms. Ciucias has spent her last three years at Charlottesville High School. She started as a student teacher and currently teaches English 11 Honors and AP Language. Not only has she been a great presence in the classroom but also in our greater CHS community, as a sponsor of the Pickleball Club and an assistant coach of the girls Tennis Team.
Her love of teaching started at a young age and grew even stronger after an influential history teacher in high school. That love of teaching has seamlessly transferred to CHS. When asked her favorite part of teaching, she responded by saying: “I really love the interactions with you guys, the students, I love English but the fun of the job is getting to interact with everyone and creating connections with both the students and staff.”
She says her favorite part about Charlottesville High School has been “the diversity, which was different from [her] high school experience”
She added that, “The staff were so amazingly welcoming to me when I was a student teacher here, and I just connected with so many then and this year.” She continues to love how everyone “keeps it real” and the amazing school spirit here.
Co-worker and CHS Teacher, Seth Maynard likes how Ms. Ciucias “has pushed him to think more about the students’ perspective in assignments”
Several of her students say they appreciate how friendly she is and how flexible and creative her assignments are.
Whether in the classroom or on the pickleball court, Ms. Ciucias is a warm face to see around school and we are lucky to have welcomed her into our CHS community.
